


Orbit

by furchte_die_schildkrote



Category: Ancient History RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Bittersweet, Gen, Questionable history and space science, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 14:35:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7226392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/furchte_die_schildkrote/pseuds/furchte_die_schildkrote
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The meeting at Ephesus.</p><p>Exiled from Carthage, Hannibal has fled to the moon Ephe. Now as war brews between Rome and the Ephesian Empire, a Roman delegation has arrived at the capital Ephesus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Orbit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sevenofspade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevenofspade/gifts).



> Happy summer, sevenofspade! 
> 
> And thank you for introducing me to this wildly interesting time period and fantastic ship! Your primers were so much fun to read!
> 
> I hope you enjoy! :D

Ionia hung heavy in its moon's sky. Its pale green and rusty brown currents gave the impression of aged copper. The gaseous planet filled well over half of the Ephesian night sky, giving a soft glow to the balmy summer night. Ephe was the second of twelve Ionian moons to be colonized during the Great Expansion, and its capital Ephesus took great care in maintaining its historical integrity. The hilly streets were still made from cobblestone. The electric lights outside of buildings were designed to resemble gas lanterns, and ornate metal trims lined the black and tan brick buildings. Public parks littered the city. Through extensive and thorough urban planning, the Ephesian king Antiochus III elevated the city to a _tour de fource_ of architectural, societal, and artistic mastery, and the pinnacle of the city's achievements was the royal palace that currently hosted the exiled general Hannibal Barca.

 

Hannibal stood at the edge of a palace balcony, looking out over the ocean cliffs. He watched the night sky as a large Roman ship bearing the ambassadorial seal approached the landing dock several miles out to sea.

 

Ephesus was built on a jagged patch of rock, nestled between sharp sea cliff and soaring mountains. Nature had ruled this region would be entirely inaccessible to flightcraft and inhospitable to any colonizers, and yet the Ephesians carved out a prosperous city and forced life to thrive and flourish. They imported fertile soil to grow vibrant gardens. Convoluted arrangements of stairs allowed the city to expand more vertically, and metal ladders ran along the cliffs when stairs were not enough. A landing dock was built several miles out to sea in order to allow merchant and diplomatic ships access to the city without endangering the city's safety or pristine ocean view. Ephesus may not have been the moon's largest city at first, but when the Pansystemic Empire collapsed and the most prosperous and accessible cities were ransacked by opportunistic pirates, Ephesus was judged too challenging and too poor a mark to target. In the wake of anarchy, Ephesus rose to become the leading power on that moon.

 

Hannibal watched and watched until a ferry grew visible along the horizon. The ferry rode up to the cliff dock, letting off a dozen or so men in Roman dress. No matter where Hannibal traveled, it seemed, the Roman Empire was close behind, demanding his capture. War between the Roman and Epheid empires was rapidly approaching, and the approach ran unhindered by Hannibal's position as military advisor to the king. If the Roman Empire insisted on biting at him like a fly, he was entitled to take a swap at them from time to time.

 

The Roman delegation was too far for Hannibal to make out any faces, but he could see that one seemed to stand apart from the rest, heavy and solemn with something more than professionalism and pride. If Hannibal were to believe the rumors, then this man must be Scipio.

 

Scipio and the rest of the Roman delegation exited the boat and began to make their way up the cliff steps to the palace, escorted by the king's guard. Scipio moved with commanding power and confidence, but something in his gait and posture revealed his age.

 

Hannibal thought back to the first time he had seen Scipio: a meeting in a tent before the Battle of Zama. He had not been exceptionally young, Hannibal thought to himself—at least, no younger than Hannibal was when he led his entire Carthaginian spacefleet through the Alphine asteroid cluster. In the shadow of the legends that had been built up around him, the man who stood before Hannibal had seemed small. Small, until he began to speak. When Scipio spoke, his energy seemed to ignite the room. He had a fiery manner, which Hannibal took to be misplaced arrogance at the time. Hannibal felt a connection weave itself between them during that meeting. He had found an equal, a worthy wartime opponent. Hannibal had fully expected to win the Battle of Zama, but when Scipio defeated him with a variation on Hannibal's own strategies, Hannibal could not help but feel admiration and an awe-filled humility.

 

Now, as Hannibal stood on the Ephesian cliffs, exiled from Carthage and his Iberian home, he prepared to face the men who would nag Antiochus for Hannibal's surrender. Gloating to his harassers, dangling their unreachable prize right in front of their noses may not be the most honorable approach, but it was too tempting an idea to ignore.

 

* * *

 

Scipio and Hannibal leaned on the stone rail along the open balcony extending from Hannibal's study, still thoroughly drunk from generous servings of wine at the welcome feast earlier that night.

 

“I am glad you came when Ionia was in antipass,” Hannibal said, lifting his gaze to the swirling gaseous planet above them. “That planet up there is a sight to behold either way, but the way it tints the world when the sun is set is something else. Like we all stumbled into a different world—a different reality, and nothing else can tough us. Sometimes I wake up during the night, and think I've died. Died and moved on to the next life. All because of that great ball of gas.”

 

Hannibal chuckled.

 

“Stars—those you can see anywhere. This,” Hannibal drunkenly gestured towards the sky, “is one of a kind.”

 

“Maybe we should have come at a different time. Rome might grow jealous of dear Ionia here, and decide they want her for themselves.”

 

Hannibal let his gaze fall to Scipio. He realized he was most likely staring, but was too drunk to care much. Scipio had changed. He had grown quiet. The intoxicating energy that he once radiated had faded. His eyes were heavy with bitterness and discontent.

 

“Thievery seems to be the Roman way, I understand,” Hannibal said with a baiting smile. “After all, I sit here drinking with the man who defeated me with stolen battlefield strategies.”

 

“I did not steal them. I improved upon them,” Scipio replied, with a defiant smile breaking through his heavy affect.

 

Hannibal burst out in a deep, appreciative laugh. “Another victory I have to concede to the Roman thief!” he said, bowing his head and raising his goblet with a theatrical flair.

 

“I wasn't expecting to find the exiled hero of Carthage in such a good humor.”

 

“Why shouldn't I be?” Hannibal said in a drunkenly sing-song tone. “I stand a single battle shy of being the greatest general in known history. And the man who took that from me stands here, gloomy and miserable." Hannibal gave a playful and teasing shove to Scipio's arm. "I can settle for third.”

 

Though soon the drink carried him to a more melancholy state of mind.

 

“I did not see you at Cannae. Or Trebia or anywhere in Italy. Or maybe I did. Who can remember that sort of thing after all these years? But I can picture your face then.” Hannibal took a long swig from his goblet of wine. “Twenty years of war is not something men were meant to survive. You face is proof of that, if you don't mind my saying.”

 

“At least I still have both my eyes,” Scipio said, drawing another booming laugh from Hannibal. “Better a twenty year war with hundreds of thousands of soldiers than a single day with a group of backstabbing politicians.”

 

“Damn straight.” Hannibal took another swig of wine.

 

“At least the soldier is upfront in trying to destroy you.”

 

* * *

 

After several days of political posturing, the Romans and the fearful tension they brought with them left Ephesus. They left just as Ionia left the night sky for the day sky. The warm glow that had woven into the night air vanished, giving way to stark darkness punctuated by stars and the minimal amount of city lights allowed running after dark. The Ionian spell had ended, and reality set in once more. Hannibal mourned the planet's passing like a child mourned a wonderful dream he had woken up from. 

 

The Romans failed to convince the king to give Hannibal over, but Hannibal could feel his foothold in the city grow more precarious by the day. While the lighthearted and frantic daily commotion of city life returned to Ephesus, Hannibal could sense something sinister and electrifying brewing in the air as dawn broke over the horizon. 

 

War was coming, and yet what dominated Hannibal's mind was the thought of meeting Scipio on the battlefield in another round of strength and strategy.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So this space AU may not be 100% historically accurate, but hey, it's space. Also idk if my mental image of Ionia's orbit and position in the sky is scientifically plausible, but I thought it was cool so I sort of went with it!


End file.
